ForesterSearch News Releases

On Thursday, June 4, consulting forester Bruce Lanier of McKinley and Lanier Forest Resources led a forestry field visit in Carrollton, Alabama. An audience of about 25 forest landowners met for a tour of private forestland owned by the Bell-Yarbro family in Pickens County.

The presentation touched on the current market conditions, sustainable forestry certification, and various ways McKinley and Lanier are adjusting to the depressed market for pine pulpwood. Consulting foresters advise landowners on a crop, trees, that will not be harvested for twenty years or more, which gives the market plenty of time to cook up surprises.

“I can’t offer you a silver bullet,” Lanier said, “but I can tell you what we’re doing and what we’re trying.” The presentation specifically focused on planting mixed hardwood and pine forest, and ways to make that approach work for the landowner.

The McKinley and Lanier team, which also included co-founder Monty McKinley as well as Michael Hartley and Chase White, answered questions at four different sites chosen to highlight various forest management practices.

Consulting foresters like Lanier play a key role in helping keep Alabama beautiful—and forested. For more information about the value of consulting foresters to landowners, or to find a consulting forester in your county, visit www.forestersearch.com, an online directory of consulting foresters in Alabama, made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

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MAY 29, 2020
Consulting Foresters Are Good for Forests

Consulting forester T.R. Clark is the regional manager at F & W Forestry’s Lafayette, Alabama location, the global forestry firm’s original location. “We're part of a bigger company, but we operate like a local consultant here.” Because of the company’s history in the area, Clark said his office combines a small-town focus on private landowners with the resources of a global company.

“We have the ability to crunch numbers and show people when they can max out their return or which genetics are going to be the best for them,” Clark said. For landowners who might sell timber only once or twice in a lifetime, getting the most out of a harvest is important.

We all enjoy the free services forests provide, such as helping filter our air and water, but managing healthy forestland isn’t free for landowners. Consulting foresters like Clark help Alabama landowners manage their resources so that land ownership remains financially sustainable, and this keeps those forests growing and re-growing across generations.

The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

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APR 20, 2020
Consulting Foresters: Key to Successful Family Forests

A lot of that toilet paper people have been hoarding comes from Alabama forests as part of a $20 billion forest products industry. Approximately 70% of the state is forested, of which 93% is owned by private landowners, according to the Alabama Forestry Commission. Consulting foresters like David Corliss of Corliss Land & Timber are a vital resource for forest owners who grow, harvest, and replant timber.

Corliss, who seeks clients in Escambia County and the surrounding area, is a registered forester and real estate agent, and often spends summers helping clients control destructive invasive plants like cogon grass or popcorn tree. As a former timber buyer, he has insight on how to help landowners navigate getting the best price for their timber. Corliss and other consulting foresters help Alabama forest owners manage their resources to keep those forests growing and re-growing across generations. Among other things, this also helps keep TP on the shelves.

The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

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APR 9, 2020
Consulting Foresters Help Grow Alabama Trees

A lot of that toilet paper people have been hoarding comes from Alabama forests as part of a $20 billion forest products industry. Approximately 70% of the state is forested, of which 93% is owned by private landowners, according to the Alabama Forestry Commission. Consulting foresters like Butler County resident Richard Crenshaw are a vital resource for forest owners who grow, harvest, and replant timber.

Crenshaw works with landowners from 20 acres to several hundred, and likes the flexibility of working with family forests. Being a one-man office comes with challenges, but he likes the flexibility. “I can take any job that I think I can help the person with,” he said. He takes pride in knowing that he can drive down the road and see a forest that he had a hand in shaping.

Crenshaw and other consulting foresters help private landowners manage their resources so that land ownership remains financially sustainable, and this keeps those forests growing and re-growing across generations. Among other things, this also helps keep TP on the shelves.

The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

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MAR 26, 2020
Consulting Foresters Key to Alabama Forest Industry

A lot of that toilet paper people are hoarding comes from Alabama forests, of which 93% is owned by private landowners, according to the Alabama Forestry Commission. Consulting foresters like Dale County resident Clinton Wilks are a vital resource for forest owners who grow, harvest, and replant timber.

Wilks is a founding partner of M&W Forestry Consultants in Ozark, Alabama. In Dale County, longleaf pine has a large footprint among planted pine forests. M&W has accumulated particular experience and expertise in growing and managing longleaf pine, a native pine species that grows unusually tall and straight—perfect for poles—but requires prescribed fire to thrive and needs extra care in planting and seedling stages. Their guidance helps many clients grow robust stands of longleaf.

Wilks and other consulting foresters help private landowners manage their resources so that land ownership remains financially sustainable, and this keeps those forests growing and re-growing across generations. Among other things, this also helps keep TP on the shelves.

The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

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MAR 20, 2020
Consulting Foresters: Key to Family Forests

In 2018, Alabama’s forest industry generated $16.3 billion and 41,600 jobs. Forests filter our air and water, and host Alabama’s spectacular wildlife, but owning and maintaining this land isn’t free for landowners. Many families rely on consulting foresters to help them make decisions that will keep their land financially sustainable and forested.

Consulting foresters like Lauderdale County resident Billy Rye help Alabama’s woodland owners sustainably grow—and regrow—Alabama’s forests. As a registered forester, Rye helps woodland owners in Alabama and all over the mid-south region manage their land and achieve highly personalized objectives for their property. This might take the form of specific forest management practices like prescribed fire or timber harvests, helping manage hunting leases, or simply keeping an eye on property for non-resident landowners.

“I love helping people,” Rye said. “I love helping people reach their objectives, and that’s the motivation behind it all for me. That’s the passion that drives me to do the best job possible for my clients.”

The Alabama Forest Owners’ Association (AFOA) considers people like Billy Rye key resources for the thousands of private forest landowners in Alabama. For that reason, AFOA developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.
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MAR 19, 2020
Consulting Foresters Preserve Alabama Forests

Coosa County residents Sara Baldwin, PhD and Doug McConnell, PhD are the team at the helm of Forest Owner Services. They are both consulting foresters, and as a married couple, they’re a team in life as well as business. They both earned degrees in forestry in the 1980s and began by managing family land, earning a TREASURE Forest designation in 1987.

In addition to forest management and real estate services, Forest Owner Services helps families plan for the next generation, including plans to keep the land intact. Their specialty is helping families achieve multiple objectives for their land, such as recreational trails along with timber production. Thinning slower growing or a final harvest on forty acres can provide a diversity of views for horseback riding, for example. “It’s also far and away the best way to manage for deer,” Baldwin says, because they get a variety of browse conditions as stands of different ages grow.

Of Alabama’s 23 million acres of timberland, 93.5% is privately owned. Forests filter our air and water, and host Alabama’s spectacular wildlife, but owning and maintaining this land isn’t free for landowners. Many families rely on consulting foresters to help them make decisions that will keep their land financially sustainable and forested.

The Alabama Forest Owners’ Association (AFOA) considers people like Baldwin and McConnell key resources for the thousands of private forest landowners in Alabama. For that reason, AFOA developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.
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FEB 19, 2020
Consulting Foresters Help Maintain Family Forests

Madison County resident Colin Bagwell of Your Forester has worked with Alabama landowners since 1966, and he still enjoys helping landowners run a profitable timber business through sound management principles. Of Alabama’s 23 million acres of timberland, 93% is privately owned. Forests filter our air and water, and host Alabama’s spectacular wildlife, but owning and maintaining this land isn’t free for family forest owners. Many families rely on the work of consulting foresters like Bagwell to keep their land forested and financially sustainable.

Consulting foresters help private landowners manage their resources for the next generation. They also work to represent the interests of the landowners in large, important transactions such as timber sales and reforestation activities. A consulting forester who knows how to navigate these events in the best interest of the landowner can be the deciding factor that keeps the family land in the family. “It’s rewarding to help clients avoid a convenient but unwise path, such as allowing a logger to do a select cut at his own discretion, that would not advance the landowners’ goals,” Bagwell said. “I can help with that.”

The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) considers people like Colin Bagwell key resources for the thousands of private forest landowners in Alabama. For that reason, AFOA developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

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FEB 8, 2020
Forestry Consultant Shares Expertise with Landowners

FAYETTE, Ala. On February 8, consulting forester Greg West spoke to a group of 22 landowners about chainsaw maintenance and safety. West, owner of West Forestlands, is also a certified chainsaw instructor. The morning began with a classroom session that covered safety gear, saw chain filing, and guide bar maintenance. West covered equipment and methods for maintaining the sharpness and effectiveness of your chainsaw. The classroom discussion also covered common hazards and best practices.

After lunch at Lisa’s Barbecue, West took the classroom outdoors on property owned by Gordon and Kim Ary. A fallen tree gave a perfect example of the kinds of tasks and risks landowners might face on their own property. The tangle of limbs would have been tricky for even an experienced chainsaw handler, but West demonstrated how to reduce a potential safety hazard to manageable chunks of firewood. The day wrapped up with bringing down a leaning tree, which can be dangerous for inexperienced sawyers.

While West has particular expertise in teaching chainsaw safety, consulting foresters provide a broad range of valuable services to private landowners. From more profitable timber sales, to replanting, to wildlife and recreation, consulting foresters help private landowners manage their resources for the next generation.

The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) considers people like West key resources for the thousands of private forest landowners in Alabama. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust. Visit www.forestersearch.com to contact West or find other foresters in your county.

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JAN 14, 2020
Consulting Foresters Improve Forests and Wildlife
Alabama has the third highest number of forested acres in the lower 48 states. Of that, 93% is privately owned. Forests filter our air and water, and host Alabama’s spectacular wildlife, but owning and maintaining this land isn’t free for family forest owners. Many families rely on the work of consulting foresters like Montgomery-based Ted DeVos to help them keep their land profitable and forested.

Ted DeVos is a Registered Forester, Wildlife Biologist and, since 2003, Co-owner of Bach and DeVos Forestry and Wildlife Services in Montgomery, Alabama. “Managing your land and the timber is how to either make great or marginal conditions for wildlife,” DeVos said. “You can’t manage wildlife without managing timber.” His specialty is helping landowners do both, earning income from timber while helping increase the presence of wildlife like deer, quail, or turkey. “It’s a little different and more involved than straight timber management, but I feel it helps landowners take their property to the next level,” he said.

Consulting foresters help private landowners manage their resources for the next generation. The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) considers people like Ted DeVos key resources for the thousands of private forest landowners in Alabama. For that reason, AFOA developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

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JAN 03, 2020
Find a Forester Search Tool for Landowners
In 2018, Alabama’s forest industry generated $16.3 billion and 41,600 jobs. Forests filter our air and water free of charge, but maintaining healthy forests isn’t free for forest landowners. Consulting foresters, like Opelika-based Lehman Bass, help Alabama’s woodland owners sustainably grow—and regrow—Alabama’s forests.

Bass is a Registered Forester (RF), an Alabama Certified Forester (ACF), and a graduate of Auburn University’s forestry program. After starting out in procurement with Georgia Pacific after college and then starting his own company, Green South Land & Timber, in the late 1990s, Bass today works in practically every aspect of forest management, from helping clients acquire or sell timberland to harvesting and replanting. The newest addition to the company is real estate services. “We want to be able to offer everything the landowner could need,” Bass said. “We make a point to offer it all.”

Consulting foresters help private landowners manage their resources for the next generation. The Alabama Forest Owners Association (AFOA) considers people like Lehman Bass key resources for the thousands of private forest landowners in Alabama. For that reason, AFOA developed a search tool to connect landowners with consulting foresters in their area. Family forest owners can visit ForesterSearch.com to browse consulting foresters by county, a free service made possible by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.